In a meeting with lawmakers yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said that for the government to truly demonstrate its ability to crackdown on gangster and money politics it should not cower from public representatives who are widely known for their corruption.
"The crackdown on gangsters and criminal organizations should reach those individuals, so that the public will be able to believe in the government," Chen was quoted as saying by DPP lawmaker Chang Ching-fang (張清芳).
"If the government can keep these individuals from participating in the elections, or ensure they do not win, then we can say that we have been successful."
While Chen did not specify which lawmakers he was referring to, Chang said that Chen's comment referred to individuals like Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), the spiritual leader of the Tiendaomeng Gang (天道盟), Lin Ming-yi (林明義) and Wu Jzer-yuan (伍澤元).
DPP lawmakers also urged the president not to cooperate with such individuals even if it might help to temporarily stabilize the political situation or to gain a majority in the legislature.
"The main policy of the DPP is to oppose money and gangster politics and to lead this reform and those people are the target of our reform," Chen was quoted as saying.
"It would be impossible to cooperate with them. I believe that in this year's legislative elections Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) will be very successful in his efforts to crackdown on vote-buying."
During meetings with DPP lawmakers this week, Chen has stressed several times that the government will never cooperate with such individuals.
The DPP is expected to capture 85 seats in the year-end elections. With that number of seats in the Legislative Yuan, the ruling party would need another 35 seats to gain a solid majority. There are 225 seats in the legislature, of which the DPP currently holds 67.
Asked by DPP lawmakers who the DPP's partner would be after the year-end elections, Chen did not elaborate, lawmakers said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique